UCSC College Eight trades in its number for the name of environmental hero

College receives $7M, establishes chair of ecology and environmental justice

By
Ryan Masters, Santa Cruz Sentinel

Thursday, September 15, 2016

SANTA CRUZ >> College Eight at UC Santa Cruz, a crucial component of the university’s environmental, ecological and sustainability programs and initiatives, is trading in its number for the name of an environmental hero.

UCSC officials announced Thursday the institution, which was founded in 1972, has been rechristened Rachel Carson College.

Arguably the most important nature writer of the 20th century, Rachel Carson is an environmental pioneer and marine biologist who challenged the idea that humans could dominate and control nature with chemicals and technology.

Her 1962 book Silent Spring catalyzed the contemporary environmental movement and eventually led to the creation of the U.S. Environment Protection Agency. It warned that the misuse of chemical pesticides such as DDT posed dangers to all natural systems and questioned the scope and direction of modern science.

Although Silent Spring was met with fierce opposition by chemical companies, it spurred a reversal in national pesticide policy, which led to a nationwide ban on DDT and other pesticides.

Carson did not have a direct relationship with UCSC during her life, but the university has honored her with a popular lecture series in recent years. In addition, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute christened one of its research vessels the R/V Rachel Carson in 2012. Carson died in 1964 and was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Jimmy Carter.

The naming gift is part of a $7 million package presented by the Pasadena-based Helen and Will Webster Foundation, which establishes an endowment to provide research and educational opportunities for Rachel Carson College students and establishes a chair in ecology and environmental justice. A chair in science communication also is being created.

The foundation’s support for environmental programs at UC Santa Cruz has its roots in the experiences of Alec and Claudia Webster. The Websters help steward the philanthropy of the Helen and Will Webster Foundation, which was created by Alec Webster’s parents.

Webster came to UC Santa Cruz in 1987 after attending UC Santa Barbara. He worked for the Santa Cruz Institute of Particle Physics as a machinist and lab technician. In 2002, he received a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies.

In their proposal to recognize Rachel Carson, Alec and Claudia Webster said the environmental pioneer embodied the core values of UCSC better than anyone.

“Rachel Carson challenged authority, risked everything, and changed the world for the better. In doing so, she provided a model that students need and deserve, and that we, as a society, require,” Alec and Claudia Webster said.

UC President Janet Napolitano said Carson had long been one of her personal heroes and “a woman excelling in science, a person of dignity.”

The Helen and Will Webster Foundation has supported multiple initiatives at UC Santa Cruz, including rebuilding the historic Hay Barn as a center for environmental programs and providing gifts to benefit several areas including the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, the libraries and the natural reserves. Five chairs have been established, four with environmental focus.

“We feel like we’ve found this really special place in the universe,” Alec and Claudia Webster said. “And this is what we want to do to bring attention to it, to strengthen it.”